Chicago Vs. NYC - Page 2

(Novalis)And I forgot to mention Wrigley gum and Tootsie Rolls.

Well, detractors and killjoys dismiss Chicago as the "Second City" but others, including myself, regard it as the quintessential American city for its geographical setting (situated between the Great Lakes and the prairie) and the pivotal role it has played in industry (e.g. retail, meatpacking, transportation), culture (jazz & blues), architecture and ideas (think Chicago School of economics).   Here's a brief list of where Chicago comes out on top in my book, an obviously subjective list for the most part:   (1) Best RTW/MTM suit made in America - Oxxford, based in the West Loop of Chicago (2) Best restaurant in America - Charlie Trotter's (3) Best symphony in America - Chicago Symphony Orchestra (with strenuous objections from Boston, NY Phil, Philadelphia, Cleveland Orch duly noted) (4) Most intellectual student body and campus in America - University of Chicago (5) Best hot dog in America - Chicago style (w/sliced pickle, onions, peppers) (6) Tallest building in America - Sears Tower So welcome to Chicago and enjoy what it has to offer.  And I forgot to mention Wrigley gum and Tootsie Rolls.

Actually, whether I attended U of C is irrelevant.  But since you asked, let me provide some justification for choosing U of C:   The University of Chicago is a private co-educational university located in Chicago, Illinois. Just over a century old, it includes a number of academic units of prominent stature. It is highly regarded as a teaching institution and one of the most prestigious universities in the world; the last National Research Council peer review ranked the University of Chicago at the top in the list for both faculty quality and teaching. John Podhoretz, an alumnus, has said that "The University of Chicago is the most intellectual and bookish of American schools." Called the "teacher of teachers", academia is the most popular career choice for its graduates, with one in seven taking an academic appointment (a rate matched by no other University). Scholars affiliated with Chicago have obtained a total of: 78 Nobel Prizes (the most by any institution in the world except the University of Cambridge), 26 MacArthur Fellowships (or "genius grants"), 220 Guggenheim Fellowships, 17 John Bates Clark Medals, 12 Pulitzer Prizes, 3 National Medals of the Arts, 11 National Humanities Medals / Charles Frankel Prizes, 13 National Medals of Science, and an Abel Prize. Chicago undergraduates in the past five years have won: five Rhodes, four Marshall, three Truman, three Churchill and two Gates Cambridge Scholarships. Moreover, in 2004, for the 18th consecutive year, University students won more Fulbright-Hays fellowships than any U.S. educational institution, with 23 students (68 percent of applicants) receiving awards. Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago

Unfortunately, the hipsters who now run the University of Chicago are busy turning into a copy of every other prestigious American University, and slavishly copying every lame-brain up-to-the-minute trend.  Sad, sad, sad.

Chicago is where people study when they're actually interested in learning.  Those who want to take it easy attend the Ivy League.  Plus, Chicago had Saul Bellow. edit:  let me qualify:  its undergraduate curriculum is probably the most rigorous in the country, all around.